Name: 3-Ingredient Chocolate Banana Cookies (Vegan)
Prep time: 8 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 23 min
Ingredients: 3 large ripe bananas (mashed (about 1.5 cups)); ⅔ cup creamy peanut butter; ⅔ cup cocoa powder; Pinch sea salt; ¼ tsp ground cinnamon

3-Ingredient Chocolate Banana Cookies are fun and easy to make and are a healthy alternative for those looking for a treat without a lot of sugar.

You may have noticed from my 4-Ingredient Flourless Healthy Brownies, Healthy Apple Muffins, 4-Ingredient Healthy Samoa Cookies, and my Paleo Carrot Cake Banana Muffins that I’m super into sweetening treats with bananas and bananas alone.

You see, I love me a treat, but my sweet tooth is finicky. It wants sweets every day that aren’t over-the-moon sweet. I try to keep my sugar intake reigned in as much as possible, because high blood sugar runs in my family and I’m not in love with the blood sugar highs and lows that come with a great deal of added sweetener.

THIS TO SAY, we have a cookie here that is not really a cookie at all, but happens to be shaped like a cookie and is a nice chocolatey treat. It’s made with three very basic ingredients and is sweetened entirely with banana.

Not to mention, it is grain-free and contains no added oil, sweetener, flour, or eggs, making it vegan and easy to make paleo and whole30.

Let’s get right to it!

Ingredients for 3-Ingredient Chocolate Banana Cookies:

Ripe Bananas: The sweetener here! Mash up a few ripe bananas and you have the sweetness and the base for these cookies.

Peanut Butter: Nut butter works wonders in baked goods by providing structure, fat, and volume. Well-stirred creamy peanut butter makes this treat nice and rich, ensures everything holds together without needing eggs, and keeps the banana locked in so that it doesn’t spread throughout the baking process.

I haven’t tested the recipe using any other nut or seed butter, but I imagine almond butter, cashew butter, and sunflower seed butter will all work so long as they are very well-stirred.

Raw Cacao Powder: Not only does cacao powder give us that rich chocolatey goodness, but it also serves as a sort of flour to help bind the ingredients together. You can also use regular unsweetened cocoa powder – I just like using raw cacao powder because I find it less bitter and creamier in flavor than cocoa powder.

The combination of these three ingredients makes for a treat that requires zero eggs, oil, flour, or added sweetener! Remarkable!

Optional Adds:

If you want to add a pinch of sea salt and/or cinnamon, go for it! I love adding cinnamon to chocolate treats. You can also add chocolate chips and/or chopped nuts if you like them.

What Do They Taste Like?:

When you eat these banana cookies right out of the oven, the banana flavor is fairly noticeable and hits you before any other flavors. As the cookies sit, the banana flavor subsides a bit and a sweet amalgamation of rich peanut butter and chocolate shines through.

The texture is chewy and soft. Because there’s no flour, eggs, or leavening agent, you don’t get that crispy cookie texture…more of a muffin top adventure.

How to Make 3-Ingredient Chocolate Banana Cookies:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Mash the bananas in a mixing bowl until most of the lumps are out – it’s okay to leave it somewhat chunky.

Stir in the peanut butter vigorously until creamy and well-incorporated.

Mix in the cacao powder. Note that it will want to fluff up like a flour explosion so stir gently at first and once it is somewhat mixed in, you can stir more vigorously.

The dough will be very gooey and sticky – this is normal!

Use two spoons to scoop the cookie dough onto the baking sheet, making whatever size cookies you like! The dough won’t spread very much during baking.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the cookies appear set up.

Allow cookies to cool 5 to 10 minutes before eating.

How to Store Chocolate Banana Cookies:

Keep any leftovers in a sealed container on the counter for up to 3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. You can also freeze the cookies in a zip lock bag.

Let me know what you think of this fun little healthy cookie recipe!

Love recipes that use very few ingredients? You may also love my Make Ahead 3-Ingredient Paleo Shortbread Cookies!

If you make these 3-Ingredient Cookies, feel free to share a photo on Instagram and tag @The.Roasted.Root!